Just When You Think You Have Life Figured Out
by Joyful Mac
Summary: Just when you think you have everything figured out in life and you know who you are as a person, life throws you an unexpected curve ball.


(I KNOW I POSTED THIS EARLIER AND SOME FOLLOWED/FAVORITED IT, BUT I HAD WROTE THE CHAPTER SUMMARY AS THE WHOLE STORY'S SUMMARY AND I JUST REALIZED THAT NOW. SO I DELETED IT AND REPOSTED IT).

Saving Jane.

Summary: The lengths Maura goes to to save Jane's life…

**Author Notes: Not really sure who the definite bad guy is in the Season 5 finale, since it hasn't aired yet, so they will be referred to as the suspect – or something similar – in this fic. I've been watching Rizzoli & Isles since the beginning and for a while, I did not ship them. I think I've been shipping them for about a year(ish) now. And, this is my first Rizzles fic. Anyway, this is post-Season 5 finale. Disclaimer: I own nothing, there is no copyright infringement intended here. If fanfic writers had rights to anything, Rizzles would've been canon ages ago.**

~RIZZLES IS MY OTP. HAVE A NICE DAY.~

Maura Isles was trying to locate her best friend, Jane Rizzoli, on a bridge in the middle of the night. She had come to the squad room to ask if Jane wanted to go to dinner with her and found the tall brunette homicide detective missing. Jane's partner, Vince Korsak, informed Maura that Jane had left to go talk to one of the witnesses about their case.

This wasn't unusual of Jane, but one would think she'd take someone with her. Anytime Jane went into a situation alone, something bad always happened. Hence why Maura felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Jane's little brother Frankie had known Maura for a while now and was also keenly aware of the harmful situations Jane put herself in. He saw the slight panic creep into the Medical Examiner's face and had called out for Nina to trace Jane's phone. He did his best to comfort Maura but they both knew that it wasn't going to work. Jane could be headed for a trap and she needed backup.

Once the location was retrieved, everyone stopped. Her phone was located near a bridge and she was all alone. Korsak went into immediate action and wanted to call a bunch of patrol officers to head over there, but Maura stopped him. She informed him that a bunch of sirens and flashing lights my spook their unsub and it was best to keep track without making a sound. Maura said she'd go and they can keep tabs back at the squad. She had her phone on, in case the situation changed. Both Korsak and Frankie rejected this idea. Maura was not a cop and despite her many inadvertence encounters with dangerous situations, she wasn't prepared. But Maura was stubborn and told them she was going. Before she left, she compromised and told them if she saw anything suspicious or escalating, she'd tell them to send patrols immediately.

The men agreed and then decided to comb through their witness/possible suspects lists to find out whom Jane could be meeting and if he or she could be considered dangerous.

Meanwhile, Maura drove to the location Nina had said Jane was. According to the two calls she placed to the squad room, Jane's location had not changed.

When she arrived, the only noise came from passing vehicles and distance sounds… and the rushing water below. She held her cell close and checked for updates on anything and found no notifications. It would've been very nice to hear from someone that the "witness" was a friendly and Jane was safe.

She started walking the side of the bridge, carefully watching her surroundings. She was on top of Jane's location but didn't know where Jane and the "witness" were located exactly. She took a peak over the side of the bridge, to see if there was anyone under – by the shoreline. Sadly, it was too dark to tell. As a cold breeze caught her, she noticed a bit of movement down along the bridge and the sound of someone yelling.

A flash of light from a headlight beyond the commotion outlined a tall figure… and Jane. She knew it was her. She crept closer and quietly radioed Korsak and Frankie about her findings and told them to ready the backup.

She had barely crept a few feet closer when the commotion got louder; a headlight outlined them just as she saw the tall figure shove Jane over the bridge. She heard the scream and saw her friend fall to the rushing water below.

"JANE!" she screamed out, and looked back at the figure, who had stopped. She quickly radioed the squad and told them the witness pushed Jane into the water and to send help ASAP. She wanted to stay on the line but the river was carrying Jane away and the figure was getting closer.

Maura made a quick decision and kicked off her shoes and climbed the rail. She took one look back at the figure, who was getting closer still, and she jumped in to the dark depths below.

Despite summer, the water was freezing and it was pitch black. As she kicked to the surface, she panicked over how she was going to locate Jane. The sound of rushing water and other noises in the air made it almost nearly impossible to hear if someone else was in the water. Add the wind-blown choppiness and the darkness of night, and there was no real way to tell at eye-level, if someone else was fighting the water.

She jolted when she heard a gunshot and the water splashed a few feet away. She had to swim away fast before the gunman struck her. She swam parallel to the current and tried to reach the other side of the river.

She surfaced again a bit later and found herself close to the shore and a good distance from the bridge. Her plan was to reach the bank and try to see if she could see Jane anywhere, but then her leg caught something underwater… something that didn't feel like it belonged in the river.

Maura held her breath and went below. She felt her trappings and figured it felt like an article of clothing. She felt around and felt skin and hair. _JANE?!_ She tugged a few times and felt whatever was trapping Jane release and she pulled the detective to the surface and hurried to the river bank.

Despite the lack of light, she knew it was Jane lying before her. "Jane," she cried softly, trying to get her to wake up. The detective was still. Fear was settling in and she desperately searched for a pulse, but couldn't find one. "No. You're not dying on me, Jane Rizzoli. Not tonight."

She pulled Jane further out of the water and placed her carefully flat on the pebbles of the river bank and took a moment to gain her own breath. She placed her palms on Jane's chest and started to perform CPR.

It seemed like forever, waiting to hear or see any life come back to the body. The tears were threatening to overtake Maura. She wasn't prepared for this to happen. Just a little while ago, she was saying goodbye to the good friend she had in Barry Frost. She was not ready to say goodbye to another important person in her life… especially one that mattered to her more than anyone.

Her body was shaking from the cold and from fear as she watched her attempts failing. But she wasn't giving up. Maura glanced up into the dark skies above, with a face covered in wetness from the river and her tears, and rasped out, "You are not taking her from me, you understand that?"

Maura wasn't all that religious, but she didn't care. If there was a He or a She up above, she was making damn sure they knew they couldn't have Jane Clementine Rizzoli just yet.

She looked back down and continued the chest compressions for a minute before finally Jane's body jerked and she started choking. Maura cried with relief and smiled as Jane managed to get on her side and water sputtered out of her mouth.

Jane choked out the last bit of water and fell back to her previous position. Her vision was blurry but she could see Maura Isles smiling above her. "Hey," she whispered.

"Jane, are you okay?"

Despite being revived from death, Jane managed to cock an eyebrow at the blonde and replied, in her usual sarcastic tone, "Yes, I'm lovely. Just felt like taking a spontaneous moonlight swim. How about you?"

Maura chuckled through the tears. She should have expected that response. She was about to make a similarly sarcastic remark when she heard rustling of the brush nearby and thought of the figure.

She leaned down closer to Jane and tried to keep a look out as she reached for the detective's gun. She prayed that the water didn't affect it too much, just in case. "Jane, we need to move. They could be trying to find us."

"Who?"

"Whoever it was that pushed you off the bridge. They heard me scream your name and they started to come after me. I jumped into the water. Who was that, anyway?"

"He said he knew who our real killer was and wanted to talk to me alone. He said he didn't trust anyone and he didn't want to be killed," Jane explained.

"You should've taken backup, Jane. Luckily, I called for it before I jumped. Let's hope they get here before the killer does. But, we have to move somewhere else."

Maura almost literally had to energy in her, and Jane – just being revived from death and all – had nothing left in her, so neither women could barely move that much. They managed to get about ten feet into some taller brush. She kept the gun close and surveyed everything around them. Jane was back to lying down and looked asleep.

"Jane?" No response. "No, no, Jane. Don't sleep. You have to stay awake."

The detective stirred and mumbled something that sounded like the word "tired" before seeming to loll back off.

Maura's whisper got a bit more forceful and she softly slapped at Jane's cheeks. "Jane, you have to stay awake. We have to wait for help. Just stay awake a little while longer. You can do this."

Her attempts were futile and she tried to think of something – anything – that would trigger a response. Something random, even…

Maura cradled Jane's upper body with one hand and tenderly touched her face before leaning down and pressing her lips against the brunette's in a passionate – though somewhat one-sided – kiss.

Jane's eyes snapped open just as Maura moved away. She gasped for a bit of air. "What was that?"

"You have to stay awake. I figured that would get your attention."

"Usually, I expect maybe some dinner and some flowers first… something a bit more romantic than this," Jane quipped as she touched her fingers to her lips. She had to admit, Maura was a great kisser.

Maura laughed, "I'll remember that next time. I promise it will be better than being on a river bank, probably in danger of being killed."

Both of them could hear faint sirens in the distance and Maura prayed that it was the backup. She could tell Jane was too exhausted and constantly kissing her wasn't going to keep her conscious; passionately making out with someone has a way cutting off airflow to the lungs and that would definitely not help.

Maura had to keep Jane's brain functioning and decided to try to first thing that came into her mind. "Jane, I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Jane asked, yawning. Sleep sounded like a real good thing right about now.

"I want you to describe to me how you'd make love to me, if we were a couple. Be romantic, be sexy."

_What?_ Like the kiss, that caught Jane's full attention. What the hell had gotten into Maura? "Excuse me? I think the water has affected your brain, too."

"Just do it. Whatever comes to your mind, okay?" Maura replied.

Jane could tell from her tone and her face that she was dead serious. She could also tell that Maura was barely looking at her and was constantly watching everything around them.

It amazed Jane how much Maura acted and looked like a cop. She was alert; though neither one of her hands were near the weapon, just in case. She was also using a distraction to keep the victim/innocent preoccupied until everything was safe or for help to arrive. The only thing that differed was Maura's medical expertise. She knew Jane had to keep her brain active and flowing to stay conscious until help did arrive. And describing a lesbian sexual fantasy about her best friend was one way to do that.

Maura wasn't hearing any words from the woman in her arms and quickly glanced down. "Jane?"

"Right. Sorry. I'm just trying to think of something. I've never done this before."

"Just pretend it's a regular sexual fantasy. We're at home – my home, your home, whatever." The Medical Examiner went back to scanning the world around her. The sirens did sound like they were getting closer, but still seemed far away.

"Okay, we're home. Your home," Jane began." We're, um… in your bed. We'd both been working a case and we were dead tired."

"Not tired enough, remember?"

"Right. Uh… we were in bed and you had a cup of that tea my mom was drinking before," Jane continued and elicited a throaty laugh from the other woman. "You tell me that after this case you just really need a release… and you take a gulp from the tea and hand it to me. I'm disgusted by the taste, but try it anyway, to make you happy." Maura smiled. "Umm… The tea starts to take affect and you lean in first and start kissing m-my neck. It feels nice. I started to… uh, run my fingers through your silky hair and… moan, to urge you on."

Maybe it was the situation they were in, or that she was hadn't really been paying attention when she made the suggestion, but Maura was not expecting how her body began to react to Jane's voice and words. She was getting turned on.

The same held true for Jane, as well. Maura was her best friend, and it should've been awkward to say what she was saying, but it wasn't. It was hot.

"Uh… you move to lie on top of me and your lips move from my neck to my mouth and… your tongue starts to play with mine. You taste amazing."

Both went silent faced in the direction of the sound of rustling brush. In the dark, it was hard to tell what was causing the noise. It could be an animal, a snake, rats, or even the wind. Or it could be the figure hunting them down, closing in on his prey.

Maura leaned in closer and pulled the gun in front of her, protecting them both. She whispered, "Keep going, Jane. Just say anything to stay awake. That's all I need you to do. Can you do that?"

Jane replied back in the same whispered tone, "I'm a cop, Maura. It's gut instinct to keep focused on the danger."

"I'm doing enough focus for the both of us, alright? Just keep talking… quietly, though." While it seemed on the outside that she wasn't really focused anymore on the fantasy and was just trying to keep Jane alive, inside Jane's words – hell, her voice – were not only melting the Medical Examiner, but comforting her. She was scared for them both; she wasn't an expert at using a gun, and she knew they were both exhausted and didn't stand a chance against the tall muscular figure. She needed to keep Jane talking, not only for Jane's health, but to help ease the fear of this situation.

And the fear was harder to combat when she realized that the faint sound of sirens was gone. She didn't see any flashing lights near where the bridge was so the sirens were meant for something – someone else.

They were alone, exhausted, and up against the shadows with only a possibly water-logged gun to protect them. Her only prayer was that if guns could work while being drawn in pouring down rain, then they could work fine after spending a few minutes in murky river.

"Are you even listening?" Jane rasped out and tugged at Maura. The blonde glanced down and was met with the all-to-familiar stern eyes of her favorite homicide detective.

"What?"

"I'm continuing on with this lesbian fantasy you requested and you're not even paying attention?"

"I'm sorry, Jane. Please continue. I'll pay attention –." Maura began but was cut off by a sound that was absolutely not from an animal or the wind. It was a distinct sound of someone slowly stepping on some pebbles and brush. And it was way too close for comfort.

Maura held the gun and trained her finger on the trigger. She saw a dark figure maybe about twenty feet away and pushed down the fear that was threatening to make itself known. She tried to sink lower in the wee bit of brush she and Jane were hiding in, but even with little light, she was already spotted.

The dark figure knew that the blonde lady who had jumped off the bridge had already spotted him, so he started to move closer as he cocked his gun.

Maura combatted the fear at hearing that sound and almost steadily raised her arm up, training the gun on him. A flicker of light shined onto it and the dark figure froze. She prayed that he felt intimated and surprised by coming across someone who was armed.

The two kept their position for about a minute, and then Jane made a sound and rolled out of Maura's cradled embrace. Maura knew she had lost consciousness but couldn't do anything about it. If she tried – and she desperately wanted to – she would have to lose her focus on the dark figure and then nothing would've mattered because he would kill them both before she had a chance of waking Jane.

The dark figure seemed to find a bit of confidence in the blonde one's slight distraction. He could see her gun shaking and she wasn't that far away. It wouldn't be that hard to take control and easily disarm her before doing in both of them. All he had to do was knock her unconscious and shove both of them into the river. By the time anyone found them, they would be far away and dead.

Maura tried desperately to keep her cool but even being armed didn't deter him and she didn't have a lot of confidence in her aim. She wanted to warn him, but she didn't trust her voice and she feared it would only egg him on and make him more dangerous.

He was only a few feet away from her outstretched arm and the gun when headlights burst on and a man called out, "FREEZE!"

It stunned the gunman and he fired at the direction of the voice and was met with a couple shots and Maura saw him drop to the ground.

"Jane?"

It was Korsak. Maura breathed a sigh of relief and turned to an unconscious Jane. "It's Maura. Jane passed out. She needs help."

Korsak could hear the panic in the Medical Examiner's voice and as he approached her, he saw how exhausted she was. As two officers hauled the slightly injured gunman to his feet and to an awaiting squad car, a few paramedics came to retrieve Jane and Korsak took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around Maura Isles.

"So, do you, Maura. You can ride with her."

"I'm fine. I just jumped in after he pushed her off of the bridge," she responded. "He tried shooting at me after I jumped but I swam and my foot was caught on something. Jane's jacket. She was stuck and she wasn't breathing and I got her free and moved her over her. I tried to keep her awake but he was getting closer and…"

Korsak patted her on the arm and hugged her close and he did his best to soothe her. "It's over now. You did good. But, the doctors might want to check you out, just in case. And, Jane will be in good hands."

Despite his calm voice and reassuring words, nothing seemed to appease the young woman and she faced him and started at him with her big hazel eyes pooling with tears, "I don't want her to die."

Vince Korsak had seen this look on Maura before, though he swore it wasn't as strong as the last time. It had been a few years back. An undercover cop went dirty and had held Jane, a seriously injured Frankie, and Maura hostage in the precinct before using Jane as a human shield. After Jane and fired the gun through her body into his, she fell unconscious to the ground. Maura had come out just as it had happened and she raced to help save her friend. Even as paramedics came in to take care of the situation, it took some strength to hold Maura back to let them in. Her fear of Jane losing her life was evident then as it was now. But, there was something deeper behind it and he had no idea what that was.

He did something that he never really did with Jane nor Maura – he cupped her face in his hands and made her focus on him. "Listen here, Maura. Jane Rizzoli is a fighter. She's going to be fine. You have to trust me on that."

"She wasn't breathing. I did CPR for a while and it wasn't working. I didn't want to give up, but… she was dead for a few minutes. Maybe longer. I don't know. She was dead."

Korsak could tell she was slipping into shock and started to walk her over to the ambulance the paramedics were taking Jane to. "But, she came to and she was talking, right?"

"Yes."

"And, she was coherent?"

"Yes."

"And, you kept her that way for as long as you could?"

"Yes."

"Then, she is going to be fine. You saved her life. Whatever you did to keep her awake worked. Her brain was functioning as normal as Jane's brain functions. You know science and how the brain works. You saved her. Let her know that she owes you one, okay?"

Korsak's words did pierce the haze of shock just a little and she smiled, and she was thankful he didn't ask how she managed to keep Jane focused and awake. That was private and would something that Jane might bring up later. It wasn't every day that a supposedly straight woman not only kissed her best friend – who was also straight – but asked her to describe a lesbian sex fantasy about the two of them. She didn't know how the fantasy had affected Jane, but she had found herself a bit turned on by it.

As her mind started to drift back to the fantasy and she contemplated how far Jane would've gotten if the gunman hadn't gotten close, the world started to close in on her and the city lights began to darken. "Jane…"

Korsak heard the soft sound and turned to look at her just as she went slack in his arms. "Maura? Maura?" he called out to her as he carefully lowered her to the ground. No response came from her and he called for a paramedic. One of the guys who had been loading Jane into an ambulance rushed over. "I think she passed out. She was slipping into shock."

The paramedic pulled on his stethoscope and checked her heart rate. "Normal rhythm; you're probably right. She was probably exhausted and traumatized and it finally caught up with her." He called out to his fellow EMTs for a gurney.

Once they got her secure on one and into another awaiting ambulance, they wheeled her away, leaving Korsak behind. He felt guilty for allowing both women to go to a sketchy situation without adequate backup. Both of them being stubborn, independent, and quite capable of handling themselves, was no excuse. He outranked Jane and, while he had no authority over Maura, his many years as a cop and his experience and duty outranked the young Medical Examiner. He allowed both women to go out alone and it could've gotten them killed. Any punishment he got from Lieutenant Cavanaugh over this, he knew he deserved.


End file.
